How to Not Forget Something Ever Again [Resource]

by Cody Holland ·
Published January 29, 2015
· Updated January 22, 2015

Tell me if this sounds familiar. Someone comes up to you after church and says something to the effect of “hey, what did you find out about ____________?” or “What did you decide about ___________?” Your answer, if you are anything like I was, is that “I-knew-I-forgot-something” blank stare. Maybe you have experienced this in some other aspect in your life. Maybe it was your boss who asked about the invoices, or that realization that your anniversary is tomorrow and you don’t know what you’re buying (Sweetheart, if you’re reading this that one was not from personal experience). Whatever the situation, unless you have one of those freaky eidetic memories, we have all forgotten something important. Well, I am here to tell you that it does not have to be that way!

Photo courtesy of lupoianfla at www.FreeImages.com

I was like that once. However, I have found a tool that has helped me grow myself leaps and bounds. That tool is… a to-do list! I am talking about being a good steward, or manager, of your time. We all have 168 hours a week. You cannot add or take away to that time. What we can do is, as Rudyard Kipling says, “fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run” or, as Paul says, “Redeeming the time” in Ephesians 5:16. We need to take advantage of the time we have and do the most with it we can do.

We all have 168 hours a week. You cannot add or take away to that time.

What does this have to do with your Deaf ministry? The more productive you are, there are two things that will happen.

You will be able to get more done. If you are like me, there is always more to do in your Deaf ministry! This is just a natural by-product of being more productive.

You more time to “recharge” yourself. Unlike number one, this is not a natural by-product of being productive. You have to implement this on purpose.

If you, as a leader, are working at your maximum productivity, it will help you to lead at your fullest potential. That is only good news for your Deaf Ministry! It will give you more time to pray, prepare lessons, visit the Deaf, plan activities, and always remember what you need to do!

What I am not talking about here is a billion post-it notes all over your desk. We, as leaders, need something more systematic and organized. So, where can you find a good to do list? Here is my list of top runners based on experience and recommendations of close friends. (Just as a side note, these are only four recommendations. A Google search will turn up many, many more, all with their own pros and cons. The best thing to do is try several and see which is your favorite.)

Toodledo. You can find this one at www.ToodleDo.com. It is free (although there is a paid version with more functionality) and I personally love and use this one to organize my entire life. It is simple and powerful.

Wunderlist. You can find this one at www.wunderlist.com. A lot of people I know love this one. It has a very nice and clean interface.

ToDoIst. You can find this one at www.todoist.com. I like all the features this one includes. A strong task manager.

A Pocket Notebook. Computers are not for everyone! (I once worked for a pastor who did not even have one in his office). If you prefer a more low-tech choice, people used a good old pen and paper for centuries before the computer came along.

Hopefully, if you are prone to forget stuff, you will take the steps you need to to change. Now, the question is HOW do you take a to-do list to its full potential? Here are some of my strategies for making the most of your to-do list.

Keep it with you. The need to write down a task can occur at ANY TIME. Therefore, you have to be ready any time to take down a task. All the online to do lists in this article have apps for your smart phone that allow you to do this. The whole point of a to-do list is to capture tasks and get them out of your head.

Use it for everything. I literally have everything I need to do on my to-do list. Everything from my Sunday preparations to my anniversary. Although you might not want to go that far with it, if you are going to use it for church, then put all or church things in it. The same goes your personal or work use. This is because, if you start trying to rely on your brain for anything, you will start to forget things and then you are back in the same boat you were in before.

USE IT! I cannot stress this enough. You have to actually use it. A to-do list is not automated. You have to look at it and actually add and remove tasks. If you are not using it, it will not benefit you.

We all are busy. However, you do not have to be a slave to being busy.

We all are busy. However, you do not have to be a slave to being busy. I hope this post has got you thinking about ways to help you get more organized and take your Deaf ministry (and life) further than it has ever gone.